MS specialist or General Neuro

[maev]

I have switched from a specialist to a general neuro because I didn't want to drive an hour. Not sure if the neuro will be as knowledgable about MS treatments. Any thoughts?

[andeolus]

I was diagnosed by a general neurologist and saw him for about a year. He was knowledgeable enough for what I needed, but as I kept experiencing more and more relapses throughout the year eventually he had to send me to a MS specialist. He didn't feel comfortable enough to go over the more aggressive therapies like Tysabri.

He was nice, and I felt like he had a decent grasp on MS, but there were a few things that stuck out for me. I have really bad issues with fatigue and when I brought that up to him, he wanted me to do a sleep study. I was very adamant about not having apnea, but he insisted I complete the study. I went and suprise! no apnea.

Maybe that was him just covering his bases, but I felt like I didn't have fatigue issues before the flare up that lead to my being diagnosed, and since fatigue is extremely common in MS patients, I figured it was a no-brainer. He also wasn't as well versed in other techniques I might try to manage my symptoms.

[Scooter24]

See the general nuero for routine appointments and see the specialist once a year so they stay in the loop and if you need them more you are still on thier books so to speak. Get MRI from reg nuero and take copy with you to specialist,

Will gen neuro be as uptodate and knowlwdgeable? most likley not but for maintenance appt it should be fine, just my opinion.

[SNOOPY]

There are good and bad doctors regardless of specialty or general practice. What is important is to have a Neurologist who you are comfortable with and who you feel is listening to you.

I have never seen a MS specialist. My neuro is very well informed and quite capable. He has been in practice for many years and one of his professors wrote one of the first books on MS many years ago.

[ApVish]

I second Scooter24's reply. If you are comfortable with general neuro, be with him and once a yr keep in touch with the MS Specialist.

We have seen 3 general neuros who were generally familiar with MS, but not deep enough to connect the dots which left us frustrated. They probably are good doctors, just not specialized enough to answer all our questions.

Also, MS Clinic's have good knowledge of the trials and other stuff (they might not really agree to the trials though , like CCSVI or StemCell theraphy), but with all the new trials going on, I would be comfortable with a doc who is atleast informed with the latest updates in the research world.